Elegant Chocolate Covered Pears (Printable View)
Ripe pears dipped in dark chocolate and finished with crushed pistachios—a simple yet elegant dessert.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Fruit
01 - 4 ripe but firm pears (Bosc or Anjou variety), peeled with stems intact
→ Chocolate Coating
02 - 7 oz high-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped
03 - 1 tablespoon coconut oil or unsalted butter
→ Garnish
04 - 3 tablespoons shelled pistachios, finely chopped
05 - Flaky sea salt to taste
# Cooking Steps:
01 - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and fill a large bowl with ice and water to create an ice bath.
02 - Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Gently lower the peeled pears into the boiling water for 1 minute, then immediately transfer them to the ice bath to stop the cooking process. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels.
03 - In a heatproof bowl set over simmering water using a double boiler method, melt the dark chocolate with coconut oil or butter, stirring continuously until smooth and glossy. Remove from heat.
04 - Holding each pear by the stem, dip it into the melted chocolate, coating the lower two-thirds. Allow excess chocolate to drip off before placing the pear on the prepared baking sheet.
05 - While the chocolate coating remains wet, sprinkle each pear with chopped pistachios and a pinch of flaky sea salt as desired.
06 - Refrigerate the pears for at least 30 minutes, or until the chocolate coating is fully set.
07 - Present the pears chilled or at room temperature as an elegant dessert.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The chocolate shell shatters perfectly between your teeth before giving way to the juicy pear beneath - a texture contrast that expensive chocolatiers try to recreate but youll make right at home.
- These impressive treats require minimal effort but look so sophisticated that guests always assume youve spent hours making them.
02 -
- Water is chocolates worst enemy - even a single drop can cause your smooth melted chocolate to seize into a grainy mess, so dry those pears completely after blanching.
- Room temperature pears actually hold the chocolate coating better than fully chilled ones - I discovered this after my chocolate kept sliding right off the first time I tried using pears straight from the fridge.
03 -
- For a truly professional finish, use a kitchen thermometer to temper your chocolate properly - keeping it between 88-90°F after melting will create that distinctive snap and prevent the chocolate from blooming with white streaks.
- Blanching the pears for exactly one minute might seem fussy but it creates a slightly tacky surface that helps the chocolate adhere perfectly without making the pears mushy.